Help with my stacked townhouse! - ex hoader!

13 years ago

I am in the middle of de-hoarding my house. Its a long story, but we moved when I was 9 months pregnant and never really had time to decorate. I had children 16 months apart, so things just begun to clutter. Everything really needs to be replaced- the carpets are disgusting, we never painted the walls, we need new furniture! My husband says he will not replace anything because he thinks the kids will ruin the carpet.

This past week, I have done a little section at a time, steam cleaning walls, windows, floorboards, etc. I still have a long way to go, but if you had seen my house last week, you would have been disgusted! I llcouldn't even invite my own mother in the house.

I want to arrange something so I can have people come over. My kids are getting to the age where they will want to have friends over. I can't live like this any more!

My house is a stacked townhouse in the city. We have the two top floors. When you walk up from the garage, there is one large room. It should be spaced out to be a living room and dining room. Again, my husband does not want dining room furniture. We eat in the breakfast area. I don't know what to do with the space! Before it had all the baby things, but now I have finally gotten rid of the clutter and toys. The kids have their own rooms for clutter.

You can see, I have a small table for my daughter's art supplies. It just doesn't look right! I also have my exercise equipment in the large space, but i want to take that up to my bedroom eventually.

Any suggestions without getting hardwood, new furniture, paint, etc! I would appreciate suggestions!

Featured Answer

joyjohnson3

13 years ago

What you have or don't have isn't as important as keeping your space orderly. Right now everything is scattered, bags hanging on posts, plastic storage boxes filled with junk. First place your living room furniture. Then take the boxes down to the garage. Do you have a coffee table? That will center your living room area. Regardless of what your husband says, if you have such an obvious dining area, you really need some kind of table. So go to the secondhand store. Talk to the owner about trading something you have for a dining room set. It doesn't have to seat the whole family (I don't know how many kids you have), just a place to have guests for dinner, maybe do homework in the afternoon. Regardless, concentrate on keeping the area neat. If you keep it organized long enough your husband will see that it really is possible to have a nice place with kids. It's up to you. And if he never does see the light, get a new husband.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

yoboseiyo
13 years ago
your husband vetoed even just painting? well that sucks hardcore.

if he doesn't want to do a dining area, maybe you could run with the chalkboard off the kitchen and make that into a play area for the kids when they have friends? hrms.

i'm kind of stumped because it looks like there isn't enough furniture for the large space. can you get a larger table for your daughter's art-ing? something that would be big enough to have other kids use it when they're over.

other than that, i would say that the furniture in the living room area is too far apart for easy conversation.
maybe turn the armchair on the left in the first photo to face the other furniture, and use it's footstool as a coffee table. the little black/brown ottoman next to the loveseat could make for a nice end table if it's stable. stick a premade table round on it (not more than 1" bigger all the way around, though.), and use a heavy lamp in dead center of it, both for lighting and to weight it down. though, depending on how grabby the kids are, you may not want to do that. it all depends on how likely the kids are to try and pull the lamp off, and potentially onto themselves (which everyone would like to avoid, i'm sure!).

other than that, some (more) art on the walls in the living room area would certainly make it feel more home-y, to me.

good luck~!

p.s., if it's the expense that husband is balking at, look at thrift stores. they often get nice, hardwood furniture, and it's not mucho expensivo. things can always be repainted/restained at a minimum of expense. sweat doesn't cost anything, after all.
Related Professionals
Lafayette Interior Designers & Decorators · Beaumont Interior Designers & Decorators · Danville Interior Designers & Decorators · Huntington Interior Designers & Decorators · Champaign Interior Designers & Decorators · Lincoln Interior Designers & Decorators · Little Rock Architects & Building Designers · Hobbs Architects & Building Designers · Yakima Architects & Building Designers · Montréal Architects & Building Designers · Lagrange Architects & Building Designers · Muskogee Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Muskegon Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Duluth Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Toronto Kitchen & Bathroom Designers
joannaz120
13 years ago
Nice work with the cleaning and de-cluttering! I notice that most of the elements are in the lower half of the room and you have unused space above. I would add something(s) vertical like wall-mounted shelving that goes all the way up (doesn't have to be wide), or a couple of molding-framed fabric panels - again tall. The other thing I would do is paint some accent walls - go dramatic, you can always re-paint it.
elcieg
13 years ago
last modified: 13 years ago
Trying to hold my tongue here, but why does your husband not want your home to be the best it can be? Your home is your biggest investment and it is a reflection of who you are. That includes him. You all should feel proud about it.

Raising a family is hard work. One of the ways you teach your children respect is providing a nice clean home, accomplished by decorating it as nicely as you can as your budget allows. You teach your children to treat their home kindly.

As for a dining room set, if you have the space, you need one. Nothing draws a family together more than sitting down for a meal at the end of the day. That experience alone is a tremendous way to learn manners, respect, thoughtful conversation and sharing.

Quite honestly, your husband needs to shape up and start helping you make a house a home.

I applaud your effort. I “boo" his lack of.

On the decorating note, beige is okay. Keep it simple; add some pillows and some window treatments. Less is always more.

Tarrytown remodel · More Info
erinsean
13 years ago
First picture....take every thing out of that stairway nook. Everything. Third picture..Do you have a TV in that room? If so put the furniture facing it. If not....put your furniture in such a way that it is a good conversation area. Second picture.....In the dining area, since your husband does not want a table.....put a low set of bookshelves under the big picture....If you don't want to spend the money.....do the old college way...bricks and boards, painted. You could store toys, craft supplies and etc. on those shelves. Thrift stores, Craigs List, and garage sales are cheap places to find bookshelves also. Teach your children, from little on, to put their things away before going to bed. It won't be long before it will be a habit and you will have a tidy house.
apple_pie_order
13 years ago
You've made enormous progress. Buy yourself some flowers and make a habit of it.

I suggest that you keep decluttering until there are no bags on door knobs or things left on the kitchen counter (other than appliances in *daily* use such as coffee pot and toaster). See if you can find a coffee table elsewhere in the house for the living room. Clear off the piano, including the candlesticks, tuck the music papers into the bench if it has one. Buy some lemon scented Pledge for dusting; it is effective and the scent is cheery and not overwhelming.

I think it is time to schedule a visit from the steam carpet cleaners. They can also clean upholstered furniture. If you have it all done at the same time, it is cheaper.

You have nice artwork already. How about a poster-size family photo in an inexpensive frame from Target or amazon.com?

As for the dining room table and chairs your husband does not want, well, cross one bridge at a time, pick your battles and all that. Many families eat in their breakfast areas every day, leaving the dining room for twice a year special occasions. Some people use their dining rooms as home offices. As kids get older, they'll want to use computers somewhere; this might be a good place later on because it can be supervised easily.
decoenthusiaste
13 years ago
It literally took a tornado to get my cousins to declutter their house. Be grateful you weren't pushed that far! Set yourself a weekly goal, space by space, to eliminate, store properly and deep clean. Your commitment will have an effect on hubby! Just smile and keep doing your part of this; he'll come around when he sees you're not quitting on making a nicer home.
mgreen1
13 years ago
If you feel you are in the middle of dehoarding (and I believe you are serious about being an ex hoarder) it may be early to be on this board for decorating. Good for you that you decided to make a change! Do it for your kids not in spit of your kids. So create the home you want, not avoid it Because you have children. They will respect what you expect and respect. Keep throwing out and thoroughly cleaning to create a blank slate. Then Let your focus go to decorating.
pcmom1
13 years ago
last modified: 13 years ago
I am hoping your husband is simply budget minded and not some controlling bully. Maybe he needs reminding that " a happy wife means a happy life"!

Right now pat yourself on the back for your efforts so far! And keep it up. Remember, nothing gets into the room without earning the right! You have been given good advice on creating a nice cozy living room spot. Really all that needs is a coffee table, end tables, a lamp or two.

Your kitchen nook needs a table to hold your immediate family. For larger groups* keep an eye out for a drop leaf table. These can sometimes be found at furniture consignment stores. Those are great places for finding quality things (junk too!), as often older couples that are downsizing prefer them to Craigs list, etc. for selling their furniture.

Trust me on that: so many things in my own home came from hunting there!

And if you look around different places and find something you really like: tell hubby, folks, etc. that you would rather have that one piece for Christmas than a bunch of little gifts. And for years my hubby and I would buy one furniture piece on our anniversary.

Just be patient but consistent. Keep up that idea book!

*PS: For hosting large groups a 4 by 8 piece of plywood put on top of an existing table covered with a table cloth has served me well many a time.

Help with my stacked townhouse! - ex hoader!

joyjohnson3

Comments (9)

yoboseiyo

Related Professionals

joannaz120

elcieg

erinsean

apple_pie_order

decoenthusiaste

mgreen1

pcmom1

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US